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The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks Audiobook
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Every great drink starts with a plant. Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when medieval physicians boiled juniper berries with wine to treat stomach pain. The Drunken Botanist uncovers the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi). Some of the most extraordinary and obscure plants have been fermented and distilled, and they each represent a unique cultural contribution to global drinking traditions and our history. Molasses was an essential ingredient of American independence when outrage over a mandate to buy British rather than French molasses for New World rum-making helped kindle the American Revolution. Captain James Cook harvested the young, green tips of spruce trees to make a vitamin C-rich beer that cured his crew of scurvy—a recipe that Jane Austen enjoyed so much that she used it as a plot point in Emma. With over fifty drink recipes, growing tips for gardeners, and advice that carries Stewart’s trademark wit, this is the perfect listen for gardeners and cocktail aficionados alike.
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“Pepperedwith fascinating facts and well-chosen anecdotes, Amy Stewart’s brisk tour ofthe origin of spirits acquaints the curious cocktail fan with every conceivableingredient. Starting with the classics (from agave to wheat), she touches onobscure sources—including a tree that dates to the dinosaur age—before delvinginto the herbs, spices, flowers, trees, fruits, and nuts that give the world’sgreatest drinks distinctive flavors. Along the way, you’ll enjoy sidebars onbugs in booze and inspired drink recipes with backstories that make livelycocktail party conversation. Like WickedPlants, this delightfully informative, handsome volume isn’t intended as acomplete reference or DIY guide, but it will demystify and heighten yourappreciation of every intoxicating plant you imbibe.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review
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“A quirky new compendium of the plants that have been picked, muddled, and crafted into drinks…As much an around-the-world tour of global spirits as a gardener’s guide to growing boozy botanicals.”
— Forbes -
“Many boozy books have been published over the years, spilling over with fun facts about absinthe, grog and bathtub gin. What makes Stewart’s book different is her infectious enthusiasm for the plants, their uses, their history, and the botanists who roamed the earth finding them. The result is intoxicating but in a fresh, happy, healthy way.”
— USA Today -
“Sipping an evening cocktail while flipping through this fine volume, I discovered that Ms. Stewart knew how to change a run-of-the-mill cocktail into an intriguing one.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Amy Stewart has a way of making gardening seem exciting, even a little dangerous.”
— New York Times -
“Gardening can be an intoxicating hobby, especially if the botany is booze-related.”
— Associated Press -
“The Drunken Botanist is a strange brew—part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, part compendium on the order of Schott’s Original Miscellany, and part botanical garden tour, albeit with a curated cocktail party at the end…[complete with] easygoing charm, sly wit, and an eye for the telling anecdote.”
— Washington Post -
“Lest you think this is for the imbibers only, a teetotaler foodie, gardener, or naturalist will be just as intoxicated by the dashing wit and detailed lore.”
— BookPage -
“Gardeners, nature lovers, and mixologists will find themselves reaching frequently for this volume…A rich compendium of botanical lore for cocktail lovers.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“From the apples of hard cider to the lime garnish of a cocktail, plants are vital to the imbibing experience. Author Amy Stewart looks into every aspect of that connection, even providing plenty of recipes. Coleen Marco narrates the short pieces with gusto while respecting the informative nature of the material. She is delightfully entertaining as she tells listeners about the use of gunpowder to test rum and about the insects in figs and cherries, among many other topics. However, some things, like drink recipes and the variant spellings of whiskey, may leave listeners wishing they’d bought the book in print to savor and use as a reference. Either way, this title is bound to entertain imbibers as it informs.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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An Amazon Top 100 Book of 2013
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month for March 2013
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About Amy Stewart
Amy Stewart is the author of several books, including the historical fiction Kopp Sisters series, which began with Girl Waits with Gun. The series is based on the true story of three remarkable sisters who lived in New Jersey in the early twentieth-century. She has also written six nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including the international bestsellers The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the American Horticultural Society’s 2010 Book Award. She lives in Portland with her husband Scott Brown, a rare book dealer. They own an independent bookstore called Eureka Books, which is so independent that it lives in California while they live in Oregon.
About Coleen Marlo
Coleen Marlo is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator who has been nominated for an Audie Award twice, winning in 2011. She has been awarded three Listen-Up Awards from Publishers Weekly, an AudioFile Audiobook of the Year Award in 2011, and was named Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2010 by Publishers Weekly. She is a member of the prestigious Actors Studio and taught acting for ten years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Marlo is a proud founding member of Deyan Institute of Voice Artistry and Technology.